Excerpt: In Perched House designed by Studio BO the challenge was to deal with this old colonial architecture without distorting it while bringing some fresh and local elements and materials to respond to the client’s needs. So, the old terrazzo was repaired and conserved, and the same thing was for the rooftop stairs and some old sanitary.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] The project takes place in the old colonial center of Casablanca, close to the biggest public park of the city and the splendid “sacré coeur” church. This penthouse has a 360-degree view of the old harbor and the Hassan II mosque.
Because of some low stand beams, the idea of this refurbishment project was to curve every obstacle and to have this kind of spider web hung and engulfed the space. The plan was conceived as an ergonomic and scenographic movement. As soon as the visitor walks out the front of the door, an antechamber will welcome him. This antechamber act as a roundabout, because from this space, there is access to the sleeping part, the living part, the kitchen, the pipi room and the stairs for the rooftop.
The challenge was to deal with this old colonial architecture without distorting it while bringing some fresh and local elements and materials to respond to the client’s needs. So, the old terrazzo was repaired and conserved, and the same thing was for the rooftop stairs and some old sanitary.
The main material used is waxed concrete, travertine stone, and local beldi zellig. All wet room has been covered with Moroccan zellig beldi from Fez, which is a kind of traditional glazed terracotta tiles, laid in a contemporary way in colors of character. All doors have been added and designed in metal and several types of reinforced glass.
The rooftop is an essential part of the penthouse, the desired atmosphere is that of an ocean liner deck with these distant views, from or boat porthole as a door. The rooftop is coated with local cement tiles in English green. It’s equipped with a bar, storage space, seating, and outdoor toilet, and it works as an independent space.
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